nominee by next week. they say there will be a preliminary fbi check before anyone is nominated and the candidate will be asked if he ever used drugs. robin lloyd, nbc news at the white house. >>> that was the saturday night newscast on november 7th, 1987. the day that the supreme court nominee, douglas ginsburg had to withdraw as a supreme court nomin nominee. as i mentioned before they picked ginsburg for that seat on the court, they had previously thinking of nominating a judge named anthony kennedy instead. by the next day though, after this newscast about ginsburg withdrawing on november 8th, by then we knew that kennedy was back at the white house by sunday that weekend. anthony kennedy was at the white house being subjected by a three-hour long interview by a whole panel of officials including the attorney general and republican leaders in the senate. we know that. we know that kennedy was at the white house being interviewed the day after ginsburg withdrew because of notes filed by reagan's white house counsel which you can get from the ronald reagan's presidential library. the

book with expedia. >>> up next, the fbi better gins the fyi, but there enough time to find the truth? >> you had just sexual assaulted one of the two girls, would you add the girls ease names to your calendar? >> the details in the date lines, how much does the calendar mean for investigators? >> look at me when i'm talking to you. you're telling me my assault doesn't matter. >> this is ripping the country apart. >> he's acts as a heat shield for the other members too ig in in the senate. >> the fury and the heat, the political calculation, the potential fallout from flake's about-face. hey there, everyone. i'm alex witt, let's get to what's happening out there. we begin this hour with new reaction from one of the women who confronted senator jeff flake and may have played a key role in his decision to call for an investigation so here's anna maria archula, in an interview with my colleague joy reid a bit earlier. >> if we had an opportunity we wanted to make sure he heard us, he felt the rage and pain that women are feeling in these moments, watching the senate potentially put

department didn't do its homework. in the preliminary fbi investigation, ginsburg was never kd if he had ever used drugs, only if he ever abused them or had an addiction problem. former white house aide david gergen. >> in this case, the president must look to his justice department and say what happened, fellows? why didn't you do this right? >> senior white house aides say the next nominee will likely be anthony kennedy, moderate conservative. he had been the choice of chief of staff howard baker, who felt he would be easier to confirm than ginsburg. white house aides hope to announce a new nominee by early next week. they say there will be a preliminary fbi check done before anyone is nominated and at this time the candidate will be asked if he ever used drugs. robin lloyd, nbc news, at the white house. >> that was the saturday night newscast on nbc news november 7, 1987, the day that supreme court nominee douglas ginsburg had to withdraw from consideration as a supreme court nominee. as i mentioned before, they picked ginsburg -- before they picked ginsburg for that seat they had

. here's what's happening right now. new questions this hour. does the fbi have free rein or is the white house micromanaging? into the scope of brett kavanaugh's scope. the acciarimony is still boilin >> a judge to confirm brett kavanaugh is a vote to confirm one of of the most accomplished legal minds of our time. >> even assuming we were unfairly accused, he's still supposed to behave as a judge. he can feel what he wants. >> but you're trying to portray him as a stumbling, bumbling drunk, a gang rapist who during high school and college was bill cosby. >>> plus, the second accuser, the fbi now questioning her about claims against the supreme court nominee. we'll tell you what her lawyer says. >>> but we begin this hour with new reaction from the white house on the scope of the investigation into sexual assault allegations against judge kavanaugh. two people familiar with the matter tell "the new york times," four people will be questioning over the next few days. but top officials are pushing back on reports that this list is part of its effort to limit the scope of the investig

back up or possibly dispute kavanaugh's denials? very compelling. before ordering the new fbi probe, the president praised christine blasey ford's testimony against kavanaugh. so why is mr. trump suddenly so accommodating after his attacks on ford and fierce defense of his high court nominee? and turning point. jeff flake's 11th hour intervention came after he was confronted by sexual assault survivors who were furious about kavanaugh and his treatment of survivors. is there new hope for healing tonight? we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." ♪ >>> this is "cnn breaking news." >>> we're following breaking news on a stunning turn of events, casting new doubt on brett kavanaugh's nomination to the u.s. supreme court. a short while ago president trump officially ordered a new and limited fbi investigation into the sexual assault allegations against kavanaugh. mr. trump going along with republican senate leaders who were forced to agree to the delay. republican senator jeff flake demanded the investig

the fbi. well, this is how the hearing ended. >> i recess the meeting until the fall of the gavel. we're going to take action with a motion that's before us. we've got to make sure that we have a quorum. >> as a point of personal privilege, i will call on senator flake to speak. normally we would start the vote right now but as a point of personal privilege, i would call on senator flake. >> thank you. i have been speaking with a number of people on the other side. we had conversations on going for a while with regard to making sure that we do due diligence here. and i think it would be proper to delay account floor vote for up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi --taccor up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi haccoun for up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi ea for up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi co for up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi our up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi ount fl up to but not more than one week in order to let the fbi unt flo up to but

senator jeff flake caved to pressure from the left and called for an fbi investigation at the last minute to check professor ford's accusations. lisa murkowski and senator susan collins, they all supported this measure. so here we are. one week delay so that the fbi can perform a background check on an allegation without a date, time, location or any corroborating evidence of any kind. this is yet another political stall tactic from the democrats and the left, and the coming week is going to be, i predict, absolute hell. as judge kavanaugh said, the democrats are on a mission to search, destroy and check more of these unfounded allegations to imaginically surface between now and the time we get that fbi report. republicans fell right into the trap. i'll explain why this fbi investigation is absolutely meaningless anyway. expect more delays. expect more demands, more investigations, more delays. they wanted to stop judge kavanaugh from day one. we've got the evidence. now they're willing to abandon key foundational core human rights that we all believe in, or at least we should. due

fast-track confirmation plan and stubbornly resisted a new fbi investigation but had no choice when one of their own had an emotional encounter and last minute change of heart. >> you're telling all women in america that they don't matter, that they should keep it to themselves because if they told the truth they're just going to help that man to power anyway. that's what you're telling all of these women. that's what you're telling me right now. >> midterm elections now five weeks away. the bitter kavanaugh divide now a major flashpoint and a major challenge for the president. >> you see this horrible, horrible, horrible, radical group of democrats. you see it happening right now. you see the meanness, the nastiness. they don't care who they hurt, who they have to run over in order to get power and control. that's what they want, is power and control. we're not going to give it to them. >> this sunday to share their reporting and insights. julie davis of "the new york times." and seung lin kim of the new york post. two women allege they were sexually assaulted by judge brett kavanaugh

able to do this, but just ask the president to reopen the fbi investigation. >> i think the committee -- you're doing the investigation. i'm here to answer your questions, and i should say one thing, senator klobuchar which is i appreciate our meeting together and i appreciate how you handled the prior hearing and i have a lot of respect for you. >> thank you. all of that aside, here's the thing. you could you actually just get this open so that we can talk to these witness eds and the fbi can to it instead of us. you've come before us and we have people like mark judge who dr. ford says was a witness to this. we have this polygraph expert that my colleagues were raising issues about the polygraph. we would like to have that person come before us, and i just think that if we could open this up -- >> i don't mean to interrupt, but i guess i am. mark judge has provided sworn statements saying this didn't happen and that i never did or would do. >> but we would like the fbi to be able to follow him up and ask him questions. you know, we talked about past nomination processes, a

white house who blocked the fbi from reopening a background check into judge kavanaugh. it's standard procedure for nominees with new allegations arise. this isn't a new thing democrats are pulling out of a hat. this is something we do all the time. in this case no. this isn't the democratic smear job if the leader so callously industries suggested. this is a republican rush job and i might add to avoid giving to the truth. here's the contradiction leader mcconnell's logic crib leader mcconnell keeps saying the allegations by doc or forward another women around cooperated. both the same time he's talking in the obvious avenues to collaborate them and that will be fbi investigation to testify. senator mcconnell's assertion is wrong when it faced because sworn statements collaborating doctor for the count was admitted to the judiciary committeeel yesterday. he doesn't believe the statement simple. had the fbi go interview those who submitted the statements and they would have to tell the truth under the penalty of perjury. so right here and now i challenge any member of the republican s

the president to reopen the fbi investigation? brett kavanaugh: i am here to answer your questions. our meeting together, and i appreciate how you handled the prior hearing and i have a lot of respect for you. >> thank you. all of that aside, here is the thing. you could actually just keep this open -- get this open so we can talk to witnesses. you come before us, but we have people like mark judge, who dr. ford says was a witness to this. we have a polygraph expert that my colleagues were raising issues about the polygraph. we would like to have that person come before us. i just think if we could open this up -- brett kavanaugh: mark judge has provided sworn statements saying this did not happen and that i did and never would do -- >> we would like the fbi to follow up and asking questions. we talked about past nomination processes and you talked about those. theident george bush in anita hill case opened up the fbi investigations and let questions be asked. i think it was helpful for people. was his decision reasonable? do not knowugh: i the circumstances for that. >> the circum

. unfortunately, the fbi has never interviewed him. we've not been able to have his attendance here. the chairman refuses to call him. if she's saying mark judge was in the room then, then he should be in the room here today. would you want him called as a witness? >> senator, this allegation came into the committee -- >> no, i mean, just answer the question, would you want him to be here as a witness? >> he's already provided sworn testimony to the committee. this allegation has been hidden by the committee, by members of the committee. >> no, it hasn't been -- it has not been investigated by the fbi. the committee has refused to allow it to be. >> it was dropped on me. it was sprung. >> it was not investigated by the fbi. he's not been called or -- >> should have been handled in a due course, senator. when it came in. >> i would -- i would disagree with that. identi i've been on this committee 44 years. both republicans and democrats. i've never seen somebody that critical and not allowed to be here, called to testify or an fbi background. >> he's provided sworn testimony and, senator

judiciary committee looked ready to move quickly on the nomination. no delay, they said. no fbi investigation. yesterday's hearings were enough, they said. they'd given christine blasey ford a chance to be heard, they said. time now to vote. and the one republican on the committee who was thought to be undecided, jeff flake, said he would vote to confirm judge kavanaugh. that news hit at about 9:25 or 9:26 a.m. then at 9:31, leaving his office on his way to the committee vote, this happened. take a look. >> i have two children. i cannot imagine that for the next 50 years, they will have to have someone in the supreme court who has been accused of violating a young girl. what are you doing, sir? >> she was one of two women who confronted senator flake on live television in a capitol elevator about their experiences as survivors of sexual assault. she joins us momentarily, and we're going to show you more of that confrontation. not long after that occurred by the elevator, things began to shift. senator flake was seen huddling with democratic committee member chris coons of delawa

more than one week in order to let the fbi continue to do an investigation limited in time and scope. >> i'm deeply grateful to senator flake and others who i believe will join him in saying that they are not comfortable proceeding to a final vote on judge kavanaugh's nomination without a short additional professional period of investigation. >> he said he is going to -- a week is enough for him or maybe less. we are not playing this game of opening this up and it goes on forever. >> neil: we are told delayed but not denied. can you imagine being brett kavanaugh about now? welcome, everybody, i'll neil cavuto and this is "your world." what a fast moving world at that. indications today that the vote for brett kavanaugh to be the next supreme court justice of the united states that cleared a key committee vote today is going to be delayed up to a week for an fbi investigation into these allegations. we're told now just not in the case that he was getting from one accuser but up to three accusers. we are getting a little more detail from the senate judiciary committee saying right now

mark judge and said when she was attacked and also said you were. fortunately the fbi has never interviewed him we do not have his attendance here the chairman refuses t to call him. and she says mark judge is in the room then and he should be here today. would you want him called as a witness? >> this allegation came into the committee. >> would you want him to be here as a witness? >> he has already provide sworn testimony. >> it has not been investigatingit the committee has refused us. >> it was sprung. >> and to be handled within due course senator. >> i've been with this committee 44 years with republicans and democrats i have never seen somebody that critical to be called for the fbi background. >> he provided sworn testimony. let me finish.ll but nothing happens with the ranking member. so the tales of the genet x-letter drunk is that you they're talking about? >> mark judge. >> i will explain if you let me. mark judge was a friend of ours in high school who developed a very serious drinking problem and addiction problem thaten lasted decades and was very difficult for h

of? >> democrats get the fbi investigation they've been demanding. who might the fbi interview? what might they mind? amy klobuchar just moments away. and a national debate playing out in congress. >> you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter! >> this is hell. >> how will the passions impact the midterms, now just five weeks away? >>> hello, i'm jake tapper in washington, where the state of our union is searching for answers. judge kavanaugh and christine blasey ford are convinced they are telling the truth, but both cannot be 100% accurate, and now the fbi has until the end of the week to investigate per the senate judiciary committee. the fbi is reaching out to witnesses and intends to interview mark judge, who ford said was in the room when kavanaugh allegedly assaulted her. the probe comes after allegations made by three women, ford, zebdeborah ramirez and ju swetnick. saturday, prucesident trump sai the fbi has free reign to investigate judge kavanaugh, but he also cast the confirmation fight as part of a larger battle. >> a vote for judge kavanaugh is also a vote to reje

clearly haven't been able to do this.t but jnd the president to reopen the fbi >>investigation. think you're doing the investigation. i'm here to answer your questions. and i should say one thing, senator klobuchar, i appreciate our meeting together and i appreciate how youh handled the prior hearing. >> thank you. all of that aside. here's the thing. you could actually just get this open so we can talk to these witnesses, and the fbi can do it, instead of us. and youee come bef us. but we have people like mar judge who dr. ford says was a witness to this. we have this polygraph expert that my colleagues are raising issues about the we would like to have that person come before us. and i just think, if we cou open this up -- >> i don't mean to interrupt. >> we would like to ask the fbi able to follow up and ask him questions. wealked about past nomination processes. and you talked about those. i know president bush in the anita hill, justice thomas case. he opened up the fbi investigation and let questions be asked and i think it was helpful for people. so was his decision reasonable?

afraid of? >> democrats finally get the fbi investigation they've been demanding. who might they interview? what might they find? amy klobuchar moments away. >>> culture clash, national debate playing out in the halls of congress. >> you're telling me that my assault doesn't matter. >> this is hell. >> how will the passions on both sides impact the midterms five weeks away? >>> hello, i'm jake tapper in washington where the state of our union is searching for answers, both judge kavanaugh and christine blasey-ford say they are utterly convinced they are telling the truth but both cannot be 100% accurate. now the fbi has until the end of the week to investigate current credible allegations. reaching out to witnesses and intends to interview mark judge, who ford says was in the room when kavanaugh allegedly assaulted her. kavanaugh denies that. ford, deborah ramirez and julie swetnick have made allegations. there's no indication that the fbi plans to speak to swetnick at this point. the fbi has free rein to investigate. casting the confirmation fight as part of a larger battle. >>

testimony would on reflect her person knowledge and memory of events. nothing the fbi or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what dr. ford tells the committee so there is no reason for any further delay."ar earlier this evening, before we learned of christine blasey ford's request for an fbi investigation, senator lindsey graham indicated there would be no delay in confirming judge kavanaugh. >> if she does not want to come monday, publicly or privately, we're going to move on and vote wednesday. >> and today, president trump offered up his thoughts on the need for an fbi investigation before any new hearing, while also reaffirming his support and sympathy for this nominee. evestdshe fbi to open its file? naugr nd, prhtio >> how important -- >> i don't think the fbi really should be involved because they don't want to be involved. if they wanted to be, i would certainly do that, but as you he know, they say this is not really their thing. now, they have done, supposedly, six background checks over the years as judge kavanaugh has gone beautifully up a ladder.as he

, otherwise known as the mueller special counsel. but will the intelligence community, the fbi and the department of justice comply or will they stonewall as they have so many times before. >> what i want is i want total transparency. this is a witch hunt. the things that have been found over the past couple of weeks about text messages back and forth are a disgrace to our nation. we should open it up for people to see. lou: and the president has done just that. congressman loyd go merit and congressman jim jordan as well as sydney powell join us here tonight to take up the much anticipated release of the fisa documents and texts among the key players at the department of justice and fbi. >>> also tonight, radical senate dems lashing out at the president and the republicans for insisting on due process for supreme court brett kavanaugh in the form of a hearing in a decades old allegation of sexual misconduct. >> what is being proposed is simply a sham and a mockery. >> what the republicans are doing to her today is exactly why so many survivors do not come forward. >> the white house i

>>> welcome back. i'm david gura at msnbc headquarters in new york. no contact, the fbi has not contacted christine blasey ford or her lawyers. what does that say about the fbi background investigation into judge brett kavanaugh? >>> delayed again. that meeting between president trump and embattled deputy attorney general rod rosenstein was set to take place this week, the white house now says that meeting may be on the back burner. >>> and kavanaugh comedy, some late night laughs at the expense of judge kavanaugh courtesy of "saturday night live." >> dr. ford has no evidence. none. mean while, i've got these. i've got these calendars. these beautiful creepy calendars. i'm lifting weights with p.j. and squi and donkey dong doug. but you don't care about squi or donkey dong doug, do you? you just want to humiliate me in front of my wife and parents and alyssa freaking milano. >> apparently president trump not amused by that sketch tweeting "snl" is no longer funny. no talent. no warm. as the supreme court prepares for a new term tomorrow the october term slated to begin tomorrow

and credible allegations are thoroughly investigated. the fbi conducted a background check on judge kavanaugh before the allegations were known. fbi when they did their background check had no knowledge of what went on here, so it's now the fbi's responsibility to investigate these claims, update the analysis to judge kavanaugh's background and report back to the senate. the fbi is the right place for this investigation for two reasons, first, the fbi has the resources, the information, and the legal tools to conduct an investigation the right way. far better than some staffer talking to professor ford on the phone. you cannot lie to the fbi. that's a crime. the fbi will get to the truth. they almost always do. second, our republican colleagues have run a transparently partisan confirmation process and then immediately insinuated that dr. ford is being untruthful. republicans and their staff cannot impartially investigate these allegations, they've already said that they're not true. republicans and their staff cannot do this in a respected way because they have run such a partisan

saying let's do this fbi investigation. >> an fbi investigation in my mind would have given me more reason to believe him. >> and what about all the drink in some friends say he did? >> that he's never had a blurry night and that he's never blacked out. i find that hard to believe especially for how many times he said i like beer? >> how many of you think you're ready to go on and say judge kavanaugh should be a supreme court justice? none of you. >> i want to know why a potential supreme court judge wouldn't use every single tool he has to get to the truth, no matter what it is? >> randy cay, saurau sotau. >> great to hear their perspective. don't miss full circle. you pick some of the stories we cover. week nits at 6:25 eastern on facebo facebook.com/full circle. >>> welcome to "primetime." another wild day in washington and it's only friday. it would really go all weekend long. the good news is senators from both part aides found common ground on brett kavanaugh and called for further review surround thing judge. the bad news is that people keep discussing this development in ter

. will the president bring in the fbi? the latest judgment call under review. and tonight we've got an a-list lineup including the president's own lawyer jay sekulow here to make the president's case on the mueller interview, fisa declassification, sessions sliets, and kavanagh as well. we also have watergate figure john dean here. he argues the fbi demand makes sense. now, dean already testified on kavanagh. should dr. ford, if there is no fbi involvement? and we're going to test who ultimately wins and loses in this supreme court showdown. that is going to be our great debate. my friends, history is in the balance. what do you say? let's get after it. >>> our president is waiting on some big things tonight. he's waiting to hear what will happen with the allegations against his supreme court pick, waiting to actually read the russia investigation documents that he's forcing his intelligence community to make public, and still waiting to hear where the negotiations between his lawyers and bob mueller go. the president's lawyer jay sekulow can speak to all of these issues with unique

intelligence, the department of justice and the fbi to release 20 pages of the fisa court application used to surveil carter page and the trump campaign. and all text messages as well related to the russia investigation, from james comey, andrew mccabe, peter strzok, lisa page and bruce ohr, and to do so without redaction. chris farrell and judicial watch have been at the forefront of the fight to expose fbi and doj corruption. he joins us here tonight. >>> also, president trump has warned china to take seriously his intention to balance the trade relationship between our two countries, and for china to end its $600 billion a year theft of u.s. intellectual property. to that end, president trump has just slapped tariffs on another $200 billion of chinese exports to the united states. we will take up the details with white house trade policy director peter navarro tonight. >>> and democrats trying to use a decades-old allegation of sexual assault to derail the nomination of judge brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. in a late-breaking development tonight, hearings for kavanaugh and his acc

were, too. unfortunately the fbi has never interviewed him. we have not been able to have his attendance here. the chairman refuses to call him. fifth she shade mark judge was in the room then, he should be in the room her today. would you want him called as a witness? >> senator, this allegation came into the committee -- no i'm just asking a question. would you want him to be here as a witness. >> he has already provided sworn testimony -- this has been didn't. >> has not been vehicled by the fbi. the committee has reaccused to allow it to be. >> it was dropped -- it wag sprung. >> not investigated by the fbi and has not been called. we might be on -- >> should have been handled in the due course when it came in. >> i would disagree with that. i have been on this committee, 44 years, both republican and democrat, never seen somebody that critical and not allowed to be here to call to be testify or have an fbi bronze. >> he provided sworn testimony -- senator -- senator, let me finish. he -- the allegation came in weeks ago and nothing was done with it by the ranking member.

now. >>> "outfront" next, trump orders a new fbi investigation into brett kavanaugh, approximaputting the supreme court nominee's confirmation on hold. how one republican senator forced trump's hand. >>> plus the confrontation everyone is talking about, two women who say they are sexual assault survivors today, take on senator jeff flake. did they change kavanaugh's fate? >>> and christine blasey ford's family speaks out and what is ford's reaction to the fbi investigation? her sister in law are my guests. i'm kate bolduan. we have breaking news. donald trump orders an fbi investigation, the white house says the president has authorized a new fbi background investigation into his supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh, and the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. the investigation, according to the president, will be limited in scope and must be completed in less than a week. that time line now delaying plans for the entire senate to hold a final vote on brett kavanaugh, so why the delay? it started with one republican senator, jeff flake, who went from sayi

statement from president trump saying i've ordered the fbi to conduct a supplemental investigation to update judge kavanaugh's file as the senate requested. this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week. good luck. >> right! "the evening edit" starts right now. >> as i understand it from the statement, is there will be a supplemental background check consistent with what the statement said, not to take longer than a week. we're going to move to proceed to the nomination tomorrow either by recorded vote or voice vote. hopefully in the next few days, the fbi will answer questions that linger in the minds of some, and we will have our up-or-down vote next week. liz: the judiciary committee agreed to instruct the fbi to take a week to do the supplemental background investigation, and judge kavanaugh and the white house saying he supports that. this is a condition asked for by republican senator jeff flake backed by republicans lisa murkowski and roger wicker before the full senate vote. the debate is this, what will the fbi probe turn up, turn up anything new

the funding. we're going to get it. lou: and the department of justice and fbi still have not complied with the president's direct order to declassify documents related to the origins of the russia witch hunt. representative matt gates joins us here tonight to talk about the crisis of leadership at the department of justice, the fbi and the intelligence community. >>> our top story, the campaign of the radical left to try to block the senate confirmation of judge brett kavanaugh. the dems sinking to unprecedented depths of despicable political dirty trick to keep judge kavanaugh off the spngt. supreme court. those efforts reaching a fever pitch today. kavanaugh telling senator grassley he'll be present on mopped for the scheduled hearing before if judiciary committee but his accuser is holding out unless her demands are met. senate dems are demanding a new fbi investigation. mike emanuel has our report from washington. >> why isn't judge kavanaugh asking for an fbi investigation if he has nothing to hide? pressure is building with republicans urging professor christine blahcy

fbi to investigate the sexual assault accusation against kavanaugh. a former high-ranking member of the fbi will join us. >>> plus, a crackdown on the state department. how mike pompeo is taking a page from his third grade teacher. hello to our viewers in the united states and all arnold the world. i'm rosemary church. this is "cnn newsroom." >>> the woman who is accusing brett kavanaugh until sexual assault has until friday morning to decide whether to tell her story to senators. the attorney for christine bla blasey ford says they are running toward a hearing. >> reporter: president trump voicing confidence today that his supreme court nominee will weather the sexual assault allegation made against him. so confident, he's referring to brett kavanaugh as justice. kavanaugh's nomination seems to be moving forward, as republicans are growing frustrated with his accuser, christine blasey ford, who announced through her attorney on cnn, that she wanted an fbi investigation before testifying. trump, who has the ability to make that call, arguing for the opposite today. ford alleges kava

not. as the fbi digs into kavanaugh's past and what will they find with just one week to do their background investigation? and political clash, fresh reaction to afternoon from both democrats and republicans bringing the fight over kavanaugh to the sunday shows. here we go. >> the white house is not micromanaging this process. this is the senate is dictating the terms. >> did don mcgahn say you can interview these witnesses but don't interview these witnesses. >> i don't think he would do that but i have not talked to him about it. >> the fbi will do a fbi background investigation then i'm going to call for an investigation of what happened in this committee, who betrayed dr. ford's trust. >> the issue is not when did evidence come out, the issue is what do you do when it comes out. >> this can't become a fishing expedition like the democrats would like to see it be. >> the part that he talked about the mention of the clintons, i didn't like either, it seemed partisan. >> trying to portray him as a stumbling, bumbling drunk, gang rapist who during high school and college was bill

thank you so much for joining me in washington, d.c. i am fredricka whitfield. today the fbi begins the latest investigation into supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. his confirmation vote now delayed another week as investigators look into sexual assault allegations against him by multiple women. the investigation was sparked by a last minute change of heart from key republican senator jeff flake. the same senator cornered in an elevator hours earlier by emotional protesters. >> i have two children. i cannot imagine that for the next 50 years, they will have to have someone in the supreme court who has been accused of violating a young girl. what are you doing, sir? >> after hours of heartbreaking testimony from his accuser, and kavanaugh vehemently denying the accusations, senators could not ignore the deep divide beginning to swell over kavanaugh's confirmation. >> we are hearing those folks have come forward with allegations of sexual assault that we are respecting them and investigating. this thing is tearing our country apart. >> seeing yesterday and today just this is rippi

senator changes course. >> i do think we can have a short pause and make sure the fbi can investigate. >> president trump agrees. >> they have to do what they think is right. >> the fbi already contacting witnesses. their report due by friday. will their findings send judge kavanaugh to the court or sink his nomination? all this after a riveting day of raw emotion. >> i'm here today not because i want to be. i'm terrified. >> i have never sexually assaulted dr. ford or anyone. >> irreconcilable testimony. >> do you believe brett kavanaugh assaulted you? >> 100%. >> none of these allegations are true? >> correct. >> no doubt in your mind? >> zero. 100% certain. >> and partisan acrimony. >> this whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit. revenge on behalf of the clintons. >> personal pain, power, politics all in play. the supreme court, the midterm elections. and the me too movement all at stake. the debate from this bitter day could echo for decades. on the fallout this morning, senator lindsey graham. >> this is the most unethical sham since i have bee

to delay the floor vote in order to threat fbi do an investigation. >> the fbi investigation has to be very thorough, complete. >> this is rip thiping the coun apart. ♪ >> this is new day weekend. mr. blackwell and christy ford. >> just when the gop felt better about the votes to get kavanaugh on to the supreme court, they understood unless they made a change, they would come up one vote short. >> the fbi is now conducting this new background check that's been ordered by president trump. >> senator flake joined others in saying they would withant vote yes without an fbi investigation. >> and the president said he is still backing his nominee. in fact he's going to be in west virginia for a reelection rally but starting at the white house. what are you hearing from the white house this morning? >> reporter: good morning to you. and the white house obviously not happy with this latest development in the nomination process for judge brett kavanaugh. they wanted to see him confirmed as soon as this weekend but it's going to have to wait at least a week and that's because of this drama

an fbi investigation before any kavanaugh vote in the full senate. >> this is what i'm trying to do. this country is being ripped apart here and we've got to do due diligence. i think this committee has done a good job, but i do think that we can have a short pause and make sure that the fbi can investigate. >> the investigation that flake requested into credible sexual misconduct allegations against kavanaugh is now under way. the white house has said it will be, quote, limited in scope and completed in less than one week. but on that scope question, it's not entirely clear what that means. will the investigation be confined to the allegations from dr. christine blasey ford? or will it include the allegations made by any of the other women who have accused brett kavanaugh of sexual misconduct? michael avenatti, who by now should be very familiar to you, represents a woman who could potentially be interviewed by the fbi as a witness. julie swetnick claims she witnessed kavanaugh participating in sexual misconduct when he was a high school student at georgetown prep tore school in th

there should be an fbi investigation and ultimately a hearing that includes multiple witnesses. >> my belief is that without an investigation there cannot be an effective hearing. >> it's been 36 years, and we're talking about a much different situation. that was a much more recent event and much easier to investigate. >> i don't think she can reject having made all these serious allegations. >> if that county happen, number one she shouldn't be criticized for not doing it. number two, we can't force her and we shouldn't try to, but then the senate has to move forward based on the information we have before us. >> if this information is there, we want that information before the committee and before the senate. if the information is not provided after the time we've spent on this, it's time to move forward and get the votes in next week. >> they're really trying to railroad this, and they're doing it in a way that i find so offensive and so outrageous, and all women in america should be paying attention because what is happening is not right. >> governor, as you know all too we

. >> with the physical characteristic of? >> the large breasts. >> well, in your statement to the fbi, you did refer to the films, but there's no reference to the physical characteristic you describe. i don't want to attach too much weight to it, but i had thought you said that the aspect of the large breasts was the aspect that concerned you, and that was missing from the statement to the fbi. >> then i have been misunderstood. it wasn't the physical characteristic of having large breasts. it was the description of the acts that this person with this characteristic would do, the acts that they would engage in, group acts, acts with animals, things of that nature involving women. >> professor hill, i'd like you now to turn to page 3 of your statement that you submitted to the committee we got just this morning. and the last sentence on the first full paragraph, you again make on that statement a very serious allegation as to judge thomas, and i would ask you why you didn't tell the fbi about that when they interviewed you. >> i suppose my response would be the same. i did not tell the fbi

you donald trump just lost this round. he is reversing himself, agreeing to reopen the fbi background check. how did this happen? we begin tonight with some behind-the-scenes moments you almost never get to witness in real-time. it all began, it appears, with a citizen, a sexual assault survivor confronting republican senator jeff flake this morning. you see some of that right there. pleading with him not to back brett kavanaugh. now flake had said he would vote for kavanaugh, but then within hours of that confrontation, senator flake did something that we rarely see in this choreographed partisanship era of this congress. and it's certainly something rare for many republicans who seem to live in a quivering, quailing surrender to their leader donald trump. senator flake just took a stand. and on at least one thing he effectively overruled trump are, forcing his colleagues to back this fbi check in order to even get that nomination moved to the floor. and that meant backing democrats. so flake is saying that he would not support kavanaugh's nomination until the fbi investigates. >> th

brett kavanaugh's accuser dr. christine blasey ford says she wants the fbi to investigate before she testifies. the only other witness to her allegation says he doesn't want to talk about it publicly. to talk about it publicly. the news comes hours after president trump says he feels so badly for brett kavanaugh whose supreme court nomination is now in peril. as for his own troubles, trump's legal team reportedly in the dark as they navigate the mueller investigation. all of it as "the 11th hour" gets under way on a tuesday night. and good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. day 607 of the trump administration, and there is breaking news tonight concerning the president's supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh. and christine blasey ford, the woman who has accused kavanaugh of sexual assault. dr. ford, a california college professor, went public with her allegation over this past weekend, an allegation that judge kavanaugh denies. tonight, dr. ford's attorney says her client wants an fbi investigation before she will testify about her accusation in

continuing to watch the kavanaugh nomination. the fbi background check under way. we're getting mixed messages from the white house. president trump saying they have free rein to investigate whatever they need to. the scope of that investigation will be limited. kavanaugh and the gop, will the supreme court nominee help or hurt republicans come november and what the future of the party may look like if republicans go all in. he hasn't made it to the supreme court. >> i'm here tonight to tell you it was a con job orchestrated by the democrats and hillary clinton. i'm usually an optimist. i'm a keg is half full kind of guy. for what i've seen from the monsters make me want to puke and not from beer. >> president trump saying snl is no longer funny, no talent or charm. every someone a critic. >>> white house official confirms to nbc news that investigators were told to steer clear of kavanaugh accuser julie swetnick. officials telling nbc that fbi has not received new instructions after the white house counsel limited the scope of the inquiry. also off limits, kavanaugh former classmate

republican senator jeff flake caved to pressure from the left and called for an fbi investigation at the last minute to check professor ford's accusations. lisa murkowski and senator susan collins, they all supported this measure. so here we are. one week delay so that the fbi can perform a background check on an allegation without a date, time, location or any corroborating evidence of any kind. this is yet another political stall tactic from the democrats and the left, and the coming week is going to be, i predict, absolute hell. as judge kavanaugh said, the democrats are on a mission to search, destroy and check more of these unfounded allegations to imaginically surface between now and the time we get that fbi report. republicans fell right into the trap. i'll explain why this fbi investigation is absolutely meaningless anyway. expect more delays. expect more demands, more investigations, more delays. they wanted to stop judge kavanaugh from day one. we've got the evidence. now they're willing to abandon key foundational core human rights that we all believe in, or at least we should

able to do this, but just ask the president to re-open the fbi investigation. >> i think the committee is -- you're doing the investigation. i'm here to answer your questions and i should say one thing, senator klobuchar, which is i appreciate our meeting together and i appreciate how you handled the prior hearing and i have a lot of respect for you. >> well, thank you. all of that aside, here's the thing, you could actually just get this open so that we can talk to these witnesses and the fbi can do it instead of us. you've come before us but we have people like mark judge who dr. ford says was a witness to this. we have this polygraph expert that my colleagues are raising issues about the polygraph. we would like to have that person come before us. and i just think if we could open this up -- >> i don't mean to -- i don't mean to interrupt -- i guess i am. mark judge has provided sworn statements saying this didn't happen and that i never did or would do -- >> but we would like the fbi to be able to follow up and ask him questions. you know -- we talked about past nominatio

the senate, after a republican senator called for an fbi investigation into allegations of sexual assault against him. i think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to, but not more than one week, in order to let the fbi continue the president says he has no intention of of replacing judge kavanaugh as his nominee, and had this message for the senate committee members. they have to do with the think is right, they have to be comfortable with themselves, and i'm sure that's what they are. facebook has discovered a security issue affecting nearly 50 million accounts. hello, and welcome to world news today. the us senatejudiciary committee has voted to approve the nomination of donald trump's candidate for the supreme court, brett kavanaugh. but in dramatic scenes, one of the republican senators, jeff flake, recommended the fbi also investigate some of the allegations of sexual assault made against the nominee. more on that in a moment, but first here's how the senate committee vote ended. mr chairman, the votes are 11 yeas, ten nays. the nominee will be reported to the f

of the fbi investigation of brett kavanaugh. >> the fbi, as you know, is all over talking to everybody. and i would expect, he's a high quality person. i would expect it's going to turn out very well for the judge. >> but a white house official tells us aou different story. details ahead. >> making contact. who the fbi has reached out to in their reopened investigation, including an alleged key witness. >> mark judge. >> mark m judge. >> mark judge. >> mark judge. >> and live from new york, snl returns with matt damon in the hot seat. >> this is my speech. there are others liket but this is mine. i wrote it myself last night while screaming into an empty bag of doritos. >> we begin with new details about thewi scope of the fbi investigation into sexual assault allegations against brett kavanaugh. claims he has repeatedly denied. for now,at the fbi will look in the allegations made by christine blasey ford and deborah ramirez. an attorney for ramirez released a statement saying we can confirm theca fbi has reached o to interview her and she has agreed to cooperate with their i

>>> you're in the cnn newsroom. thanks for being with us. president trump insists the fbi has no restrictions, no constraints to use his words, free rein in this new investigation of supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. and now this is just into cnn, we're learning that christine blasey ford and judge k kavanaugh's names are not on the list of suggested witnesses to interview. but we do have confirmation that fbi agents spoke today with deborah ramirez, the woman who claims kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a college age party, a claim that kavanaugh strongly denies. a source close to the fbi investigation says ramirez today gave agents the names of other witnesses. as for whether the fbi really has, quote, free rein, at least two sources close to the investigation say hold on, that is not exactly the case. cnn is being told today that the white house is working closely with senate republicans to steer the fbi investigation. and keep its scope as narrow as possible. here is how we're told this is happening. judge kavanaugh's overall drinking history not being looked at. the f

wants the fbi to first investigate her claim that supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh attempted to assault her back in the 1980s while they were in high school before any potential testimony on capitol hill. president trump says that is not going to happen. >> well, it would seem that the fbi really doesn't do that. they've investigated -- >> they would if you ask them to. >> they have investigated about six times before and it seems they don't do that. i would let the senators take their course. they have given tremendous amounts of time. they already postponed mayjor hearing. >> the fbi does have the power to investigate these situations. in fact, they i venvestigated aa hill back in 1991. in order to do so, president trump, all he has to do is ask the fbi to investigate the allegations. that brings us to today's big question. why won't president trump ask the fbi to investigate the allegations. joining me now, nbc news capitol hill kacie hunt, phil rutger. matt miller is an nbc justice and security analyst. your titles are all too long. i'm going to go on the record and say it o